, 1887-10-20
The Wright Mystery ,

a GUICt CbSCryart and deeply inter
cSted spectator Of the search, lately
in progress. in quest Of VIM. Wright.
] have noticed the amateu: detective
force himself into prcG'nurC>- rs l.
his wont an al such occasions. L.
have Jc,E an attentive listener to all
binds Of theories, assassination and
suicide iuciuded,uad vet to allintents
and purposes the mystery ls deepen
ing, and the public are gradually set
tling down t0sthe belief that here 4
foul murder has been committed.
that IN our IN DIST we are at this mo-
ment sheltoring criminal or GRIMM
ais. and smoihcrin@ al evidence Of
their guilt. In vain have i waited
for sorae older settler u Tofute the
vile accusation. but rs no one voiun-
tccTcd l felt called upon to throw
aside my wontei ditlidence and en-
deuvor not only TO vindicato ouE com
munity, bnt also 70 throw. If possible,
s0mc additional light on the subject.
On quiet Sunday morning three
weeks ago; quiet everywhere except
Ill the Wright mansion, VIM. Wright
went forth with revenge IN his heart
and a double barreled gun on his
shoulder. As he crossed the thresh-
of that home 10 which he has hot yet
returned, tho sunshine OF 4 fathers
presence did not go with him; but he
Sook particular care to take along ev-
cry available dollar in the house,
even TO the deed Of the property on
which he lived TIC event of that
morning was the cEimination of an
unwritten history which in my hum
bic way viii eu,!gavCr TO relate. The
element OF disturbance on the NOM
ing mentioned, was the intended de-
parture of his son Harry from a home
IN which he had never realized the
softening touch of 4 father hand, to
seek that comfort ut the hand Of
strangers that was denied him beneath
his parental roof. The boy insisted
Oh his natural rights, his father 70
monstrating agGins. his action, and
thus they parted. In this frame of
mind, muttering words of anger dI
racted against his worse than OF
phaned boy, VIM. Wright sought the
dark recesses OF the fore:t, gun in
band, and, strange to say, from their
shadowy depths he has never yet re-
turned But the public asks: "Why
this condition of affairs between ia
ther aud son?' Alas, why? The
full answer to that question 10 OF it
self Sufficient to bring a blush of
shame to every resident of jefferson
county. Wm. Wright, the lost man,
has been to my personal knowledge,
for years past, an Eabitual drunkard;
yet Notwithstanding the above we'll
known fact, the authorities Of Jefier-
son county have seen fit t0 appoint
him guardian over tho petuniary in
terests of Frank Wright, on whose
property the whole family are at
present living, on the plea, forsooth,
that said Frank Wright is NON COM
pos mentiS. He may be, or he NAV
| not be; am not an expert on that
branch of science; but one thing / am
sure of, that he exhibits more self
control than many sane people l have
met; and when we recall the fact that
he never got an opportunity to learn
to read, but from youth upwards has
been the victim of indignities seldom
known IN this free country, one won
ders to see him as Intelligent as he
is. Neglect and abuse in childhood
has certainly dwarfed his body, but
ignorance is all that ails his mind.
Thus for years has VIM. Wright been
playing quondam guardian over the
Interests OF man infinitely wiser
than himself. thus has he, during
all these years been sRandering the
earnings Of the whole family, aud if
quarrels have been the result, who is
TO blame? Surely not his children.
No one who knows anything of the
case can gainsay the fact that they
have shown forbearance worthy of a
nobler cause. 4 crime has been per
pretrated against that family during
all these years and the wiseacres have
knowingly winked thereat, suffering
1t to go unchecked until at length it
has resulted in tragedy. A suicide;
perhaps even murder!
l heartily endorse UBrien of the
CdN IN his suggestion that the coun~
ty institute search party under a
competent leader, and would further
supplement the suggestion by saying
that there Is not a moment to be lost
IN hesitation ii the authorities of this
county desire to retrieve their some
what tarnised laurels. The tongue
of the slanderer is already loose. and
the tune has fully come for an inves-
tgatlon. in order to fix the suspicion
where 1t rightfully belongs. If, as
many claim, the man was suddenly
seized with feelings of remorse; If
reason momentariiy deserted her
throne, and N il moment OF frenzy he
committed q rash deed, why don't
the woods give up their dead? And
why can no trace even of his gun be
discovered? Simply because, though
much searching has been done, no
thing like systematic effort has vet
been made.
In the Interest of this community,
III the interest of tee county at large,
and above all in the interest of tho
Wright family, let us put forth
united organization, and, readers of
the ARGUS, you will be rewarded for
your trouble by realizing, once for
ALL that whatever the prevention NAV
nave been, the members of William
WriShts family are guiltless of his
pl0od, as are also their neighbors of
holding back evidence bearing on the
fact, and if III the future you should
ever become intimately acquainted
with the settlers of this section. the
TACT will surely dawn upon you that
they are not of the material from
which midnight assassins are usually
manufactured.
Yours respectfully,
JNo. L. MCCoNlGHy.
Spokane Chronicle: In conversa-